Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1887-06-25
10 Gals.
One Of the Ways Of Getting n Living In
Thls Great W orld.

S
This Great W orld.
There are in London at least 5000
men and women who earn very con
Portable livings rs caterers to cats.
This trade, while it extends somewhat
into the West End, does not flourish in
the wealthy neighborhoods, where the
cats are often fed with dainty scraps
from the table. In the East End, with
its 1900, 600 of human beings closely
packed in single rooms in narrow
streets, there are no spare scraps from
the table. I'VE are obliged to eat
Close said a Bethnal green woman to
me. "Our cats get no daintieS, The
old nan or the young 'uns get the las!
daintieS and oftentimcS the last
bones" A vast majority, therefore,
of the half million or more of London
eats have To live on boiled horSeileSh,
and the 'cats'-meat man. of whom |
am about to speak is the purveyor Of
this meat for the poor, middle and
lower-claSs cats of the metropolis.
An ablc-bodied cat can live comfort
ably on half a pound of eats meat per
day. The cost of this meat at a cats
meat shop is Il penny per pound. If
the entire army Of cats were supplied
with a full half pound of meat it would
take abont S55 horses per day to keep
them supplied, as the average product
of meat of Il dead horse, | am told, is
about 800 pounds. A considerably
smaller number of dcfunct hcr>es than
this is made to 20 round, owing to the
skill Of the catS'-mcat man.
The greatest hart is in the cutting
up said an experienced cats'-meat
artist to me last Friday night.
You tell me- said |, THAT you
have a route embracing coo customers.
and that you use one hundred weight
G12 pounds of meat a day. Now how
do you cut up n hundred weight into
Geo half pounds?'
"NWcll, You see a nice dry piece Of
mcati Is better than %hunderdonc; it looks
more on the shewcr. Between two bits
o nice and dry we clasp a little bit o
rough. and Odds it up on the skewer,
and the customers say, That is some
thing like a rosy 'aporth, Mr.. Cats
Meat-Man.' The hart is, sir, to make
five ounces look as much like 'alt a
} pound as possible. Some men adulter-
atcs ther meat, but don't do that un-
less meat is VERY scarce
"Adulterate the meat" | remarked
with surprise, "what meat is cheaper
than horse-he,h?'
why. lights is cheaper; bullocks'
lights. We buy EN- seven pounds fol
thrcepence six ccnts) all 'ot and fresh.
But the trouble with the lights is the
cats don't Ike EN-. W. a understand
the rope, do our best to cultivate theil
taste by throwing a bit down to see i.
they will eat it, but cats are getting
that dainty as 'alf Of EN- won't, If ;
cat don't eat it, If curse w can't pu'
none in the meat. We ave to be very
hartful or else we should never get on
The mar who thus addressed me wa.
seated on a bench in a%little back work
shop in a court not far from Shoreditcl
Church. He is said to be one Of tn,
most popular puryeyor OF cat meat il
London, and is known among his elias
as "Wag." He is a g~ood-natured fel
low and something of a wit in his way
On his head he wore a saucy bill.
cock, and around his throat in place q
the customary neckerchief was a cola
and scarf, ornamcnted with u larg
silver pin in imitation of a %stirrur
His wai>tcoat wa long, with a doubl
row of buttons. His manner was tina
of the regular ~cockncy type, with
dash of the artful dodger. When
entered Wag was busily engaged i
making skcwcrs for the next day
trade. Offering him a cigar, which h
examined carefully in order TO be sur
and light the right end, the converse
ton was continued.
is the cats'-mcat business a profit;
BILE one?:" "Middling, so | think.
all depends, you see, on what kind of
walk you ave. The 'orsc slaughterel
or knockers, rs we call 'em, have a
gone into one large company, and thu
has done away with competition, e.
ccpting with country and foreig
meat
Then foreign meat comes into Lon
|, dom"
"Oh, yes. 1t comes all the WI
from the north of England, Scotlar
and even 'Amburg in Germany. b
t the foreign and country meat don
= suit the happetite of the London cat
What they like best is fine old Londc
t TRAINERS or drayers, 'Ansom c;
: 'orses are not to be despiscd, thou!
the worn-out and broken-down grow
n err is little relished by the class of ca
t as ! serve
9 GLOW much can you make a week
l. "Well. that again depends on t
t walk. There are two 'undred, o
$ 'undred, 'alf n hundred and quart
It 'undred walks. A good 'undr,
II pound walk ought to be worth 70
d pounds n week. | ave about
Il 'undred cats on my walk, and genera
make a'undred weight go round. I
10 meat costs me from eight shillir
l &2) to twelve shillings (S3) per 'undl
weight, and | make out of it by hex
t, cising the legitimate part of the trG
IS six 'undred and some lookin' aportht
ut London Cor. Troy (N. " Times.
Resort of Russian Recruits.